Richard Ghilarducci: The Need for Mentors in Sales

Mentorship is a mutually beneficial professional relationship. Richard Ghilarducci explains that through mentorship, an experienced individual known as the mentor imparts knowledge, as well as expertise and wisdom, to a less experienced person called the mentee. The mentor does this while simultaneously honing their mentoring skills. Effective mentors can guide their mentees professionally and still maintain a friendly and supportive relationship. The ideal mentor has to always have the mentee’s best interests in mind. They have to tailor their mentorship style to meet their mentees’ needs. That said, teams and departments in an organization can do well from being under mentors and coaches. It is because it has already been proven that mentorship and coaching programs can help a company in a variety of ways. Such programs have been seen to drastically improve a company’s metrics and employee retention.

Take sales, for example.

Some people mistakenly think sales is simply chatting through anything and forcing people to believe what they’re hearing. While this is, in part, true, there’s more to sales than simply closing a deal. A huge part of a memorable and successful sales career rests a lot on finding a mentor who will guide one through and beyond the disciplines of the trade. Mentors can also help mentees see the importance of focusing on targets.

According to Richard Ghilarducci, this plays perfectly into sales.

A lot depends on the system or the process the mentor introduces. The mentor should be firm, perhaps even strict, so targets and deadlines are met. The mentor monitors performance and adherence to set guidelines. Through all of this, the mentor has to impart the wisdom of building relationships via the foundation of good team rapport.

A good mentor for people in sales can guide people according to their strengths while keeping the targets and deadlines urgent and realistic. Is a mentor a friend? Yes, they can be after work.

Formalized mentoring doesn’t have to be restricted to the realm of leadership development and entrepreneurship. People working in sales need mentors, as well. After all, mentors are experts at offering valuable knowledge and advice, as well as moral support, especially to the young and inexperienced.

More importantly, Richard Ghilarducci adds that mentors can underscore that while sales are about hitting the target, it is also about expanding networks and building relationships.

Humboldt State University alumnus Richard Ghilarducci held leadership roles, including Chief Executive Officer. He was also a community leader and was elected Mayor for three terms. Read more about his leadership, communication, and management insights by following this page.